Though planning to substitute earlier than normal, coach Jurgen Klinsmann says he's hoping to see his U.S. men's national soccer team start to develop cohesion when it is unveiled Tuesday night at Candlestick Park.

The 7 p.m. exhibition against Azerbaijan will be the first of three matches in the so-called Send-Off Series before the team flies to Brazil for the World Cup.

"Obviously we want to win any game that we play," Klinsmann said Monday. "It's important to start off with a win in the Send-Off Series to build confidence and see where the guys are right now after an intense two weeks."

His 23-man roster held an open practice at Candlestick, and several hundred fans gave a loud cheer when Earthquakes star Chris Wondolowski took the field.

"It's a huge honor to be here playing for the first time in front of the home crowd," Wondolowski said. "I have a lot of fond memories of watching the Giants and the 49ers here."

The usual Stick wind was blowing, and he said, "It's never quite conducive" to the best soccer, but he added, "We'll be fine."

Azerbaijan, a nation of 9.5 million people, was part of the former Soviet Union. Its national team is coached by 67-year-old Berti Vogts, a German soccer great who after the match will return to his other job as a special adviser to Klinsmann.

"He's been a big mentor throughout my life," said Klinsmann, who uses Vogts to scout World Cup opponents.

Klinsmann acknowledged that Azerbaijan was chosen as the first opponent partly because it's beatable - ranked 85th by FIFA - and partly because it has played Portugal, another member of the U.S. team's group in the World Cup.

"You don't want to hit a top-10 team right away," he said. But he said he relished the opportunity to "measure yourself against an international team."

Klinsmann plans to use a variety of players in the back line in particular before settling on a fixed quartet when the Cup starts, he said. The competition for starting spots there is "very tight."

For the players, forward Clint Dempsey said, "The goal in any of these games is to play the best (game) possible, get as many goals, get confidence, keep clean sheets and keep everybody healthy."

It will be the team's first match in the post-Landon Donovan era, but he wasn't forgotten Monday. Holding a drawing of Donovan's LA Galaxy jersey, Debbie Siegfried of Long Beach said she was sorely disappointed that Klinsmann cut her hero.

"I feel like he crushed an American dream," she said. "He robbed me of my dream of the World Cup."